The present invention relates to machinery for making firewood from large logs. In particular, the present invention is an automatic firewood making machine which cuts and splits logs into split firewood logs of a predetermined length.
In recent years, fireplaces in residential homes have achieved a renewed popularity. Fireplaces are being used as both a decorative part of the home and as a supplementary heat source during the winter.
One problem encountered by homeowners having fireplaces in residential areas is the relatively high cost of firewood. This high cost is, at least in part, due to the large amount of manual labor required to cut trees into logs of the desired length and then splitting the logs lengthwise to form the split fireplace logs. Although semi-automated systems have been attempted, these systems have had relatively limited ability and limited success. In many cases, the systems have not been truly automatic in that manual labor was still required. Several workers were required to load the machine, to take cut logs to a splitter, and to stack the logs after they have been split. In addition, the machines have generally not been portable. In other words, it has been necessary to move logs at a logging site to the machine, rather than moving the machine to individual piles of logs. Finally, most firewood making machines have been capable of handling only a single log at a time. While this presents no problem if large diameter logs are being processed, the production time is significantly increased if smaller diameter logs are used. For example, it may take up to 16 times as long to produce a cord of firewood from 4-inch diameter logs as from 16-inch diameter logs.